Rachel Griffin, from Harrogate, has had epilepsy for the past 9 years and is now aged 28

Rachel explained more about epilepsy:

When people think of epilepsy they usually think of tonic clonic seizures, however, there are lots of different types of seizures which all present differently and even the same type of seizure can be different for each person.

Some seizures cause a altered state of consciousness and they may not be aware of where they are or what their doing, they may walk about plucking their clothes or smacking their lips.

Other seizures such as tonic clonic seizures cause a full loss of conscious and the person will fall to the floor and their body will jerk, they may injure themselves, bit their tongue or be incontinent, these seizures usually last a minute or two.

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Talking further on how you can help a person having a seizure, Rachel added:

During a tonic clonic seizure it is important not to restrain the person having a seizure, remove any items around them which may cause harm and put a cushion or similar under their head if you can.

A lot of people with epilepsy wear medic alert jewellery or carry an identity card which will give you more information about them and their epilepsy. Once the seizure has stopped put the person in the recovery position, and stay with them until they have fully recovered.

It’s important to never put anything in a person’s mouth or try to restrain them.

When an epileptic has a seizure they do not usually need to go to hospital however it is important to call an ambulance if the seizure lasts more than 5 minutes or if the seizure is followed by another seizure.

You should also call an ambulance if the person is injured during the seizure.